Au-PLGA Hybrid Nanoparticles with Catalase-Mimicking and near-Infrared Photothermal Activities for Photoacoustic Imaging-Guided Cancer Therapy

Imaging-guided diagnosis and therapy has been highlighted in the area of nanomedicines. However, integrating multiple functions with high performance in one theranostic (“all-in-one”) still presents considerable challenges. Here, “all-in-one” nanoparticles with drug-loading capacity, catalase-mimetic activity, photoacoustic (PA) imaging ability and photothermal properties were prepared by decorating Au nanoparticles on doxorubicin (DOX) encapsulated poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) vehicle. The results revealed that the as-prepared Au-PLGA hybrid nanoparticles possessed high photothermal conversion efficiency of up to approximately 69.0%, meanwhile their strong acoustic generation endowed them with efficient PA signal sensing for cancer diagnosis. On an 808 nm laser irradiation, the O2 generation, DOX release profile and reactive oxygen species (ROS) level were all improved, which were beneficial to relieving tumor hypoxia and enhanced the cancer chemo/PTT combined therapy. Overall, the multifunctional Au-PLGA hybrid nanoparticles with these integrated advantages shows promise in PA imaging-guided diagnosis and synergistic tumor ablation.